Part 2, Howard, Chapters 13-14 Summary

Howard and Theresa establish a routine where he does morning chores before the girls wake, Theresa picks them up, he works all day, and she brings them home and drops off dinner for him. When the Child Welfare Office insists on interviewing the girls, Rafferty says that he must comply. Theresa is comforting but enraged. When Howard pictures everyone being smashed on rocks, Alice is also swept away. Rafferty has demanded to be present and/or that the interview be videotaped. Lexin and Anderson take the girls for separate ten-minute interviews and ask for a follow-up next day. Both times they recommend professional treatment for the girls' trauma.

Howard goes to Theresa's for lunch and gradually stays longer, as work in the scorched fields is frustrating. Rafferty fails to get Alice's bail reduced and her admission suppressed...